Adaption and Survival
by Werewolf of Suburbia
Summary: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY PART OF SUCH. Come and watch the epic tale of survival and adaption unfold, and human nature takes a drastic change. But will this change be for the good or bad, particularly as Harry James Potter suffers this evolution...
1. The Forest of Lost Souls

Summary: The entirety of the 6th year Gryffindors, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley and a 6th year Slytherin named Amber find themselves in the Forest of Lost Souls, fighting to survive the winter and the forest, all the while trying to find the way out. All they want is to get out of the supposedly inescapable forest and go home. Add a injured SeverusSnape and an aging Minerva McGonagall to the mix, and you've got choas,fun, and struggles glore. Then again,such things seem rather normal for Hogwarts...

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There is a forest in Britain. It is not a big forest, as forests go, but it is yet a forest. Very few know what is in this forest. A good half of the population is unaware of the forest's existence entirely. 

You see, this forest was a very special forest. It was a magical forest. As such, only people of the magic world, witches, wizards, vampires and werewolves, knew of the forest's existence. Non magic, oft times called muggles, knew not a thing about it.

Given the ways this particular forest operated, you would think it prudent to actually tell the muggles something. Just because they did not know of it didn't mean they couldn't enter it. The forest wasn't picky about who came and went, and magical talents were not necessary to enter. As it was located on muggle land, it was entirely probable that one could accidentally stumble upon it.

They could very well enter, and that would be a bad thing indeed.

Wizards knew of it and avoided it like the plague. Many oft times found it a convenient way of disposing of their enemies without the hassle of doing it themselves. Because with this forest, the minute you stepped into it, you were lost.

Goodbye, you're doomed. Nice knowing ya.

Rather aptly, this forest was called the Forest of Lost Souls. And as far as magical folk were concerned, it was a death trap. The minute they heard you had gone in, well, they were planning your funeral.

This is why you would think it prudent to warn the muggles. Many innocents went into that forest and none came out. It would be sensible, would it not, to tell the muggles of it and warn them to stay away. A young muggle child would think it an ordinary forest, and wander in. Once they realized the true magical nature of the place, it would be far too late.

Yet the muggles remained clueless, and many missing people were never found because of that forest. Most wizards, at least purebloods, would rejoice. But you would honestly think that many of the wizards, who did not believe in the prejudiced killing of muggles, would like to save many muggle lives. It would be a simple task to do that. Just warn them about that forest.

They never did. And it didn't look like they were ever going to.

The forest was complicated in its simplicity. Magical dampening fields, naturally produced by the abnormally magically saturated forest, kept most wizards cut off from all things magical not within its trees. Therefore, it took forever for them to replenish whatever magic stores they use up. This was the main reason why no one was ever seen again, as far as wizards were concerned. Most died within hours, using up all their magic trying to escape the seemingly inescapable forest. This led to a magical coma that could last anywhere from 5 minutes to forever.

If it didn't kill them first.

The coma was what really caused the problems. Animals did live in that forest, even if they were unknown, and they did eat humans. In their magical comas as it were, the poor wizards lost in the forest were sitting ducks.

They would never even have a chance. Not that they would be able to defend themselves anyway. Even muggleborns quickly learn to depend far too much on magic.

May God have mercy on those poor souls. The muggles that got lost within the Forest of Lost Souls stood even less of chance. They were animal fodder then minute they stepped in.

May God have mercy on them, too.

The forest seemed inescapable because it practically was. If the souls who entered did not kill themselves using magic, they couldn't possibly escape anyway. The forest had tons and tons of magical portals, but only one led in. Therefore, only one led out. But good luck trying to find it while crossing about ten million other portals that will instantly transport you to any number of places in the forest, including right into the middle of a large river.

Wizard and muggle alike would have better luck finding that needle in the haystack everyone seems to know about.

This is why no one who ever went into that forest ever came out alive. They were animal fodder, either because they set themselves up using magic or ran straight into them while looking for the way out. Or they were muggle.

The Forest of Lost Souls has been accurately named. But on all the wrong beliefs.

Magical folk believed it impossible to live and escape that forest. But this was not true. If you knew had to work it, you could easily survive for forever in that forest, you just needed the materials and the knack of knowing portal locations and where they led. Eventually, if you decided to search, you could find and use the exit, because you'd be surviving within the forest as you went.

It was a long time before this was proved. Centuries passed, and many lives lost within the portal filled trees, but it was eventually proved that one could survive and escape the forest that Death seemed to have a personal summer home in. One he visited winter, spring and fall too.

Believe it or not, it was proved by a 50 some year old woman, a man that was once her student and became her colleague, and a handful of teenagers that were at one point their students.

After their adventures in the forest, they couldn't help becoming so much more.

It started first with the teenagers.

You see, up somewhere in Scotland there was a large castle that, for ten months out of the year, became a school for witches and wizards in training. A magic school. It was famous around Magical Britain, and many other magical European countries, and was known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Getting to this school was simple. Every year at September First, students both old and new would gather at Kings Cross train station in London and take the Hogwarts Express, a magical train on the magical platform Nine and Three Quarters. (Yes I know, a fractioned platform number. Don't ask me why, I do not know. Whoever came up with it forever ago probably was in bad need of a padded room. And a nice, comfy straight jacket.)

The thing about the Hogwarts Express, however, is that in order to get to Hogwarts, it had to bypass the Forest of Lost Souls.

This is how the whole thing started. Well, half of it anyway.

The other half is quite the history lesson. Listen closely and you shall hear…no, not the tale of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. However, you will learn how the orphaned wizard Tom Marvolo Riddle became the Dark Lord Voldemort, whom everyone is so afraid of they won't even speak his name. (Which is stupid, by the way. He will not come if you say his name, only house elf names are summons, and Voldemort may be a demon, but his far from being a house elf.)

Tom was never happily treated at the orphanage where he grew up. As such, when he got his Hogwarts letter at 11, as all magical children in the UK do, he wasn't exactly the nicest or warmest of persons. Once at school he was sorted into his House. There are four Houses at Hogwarts, each acting a surrogate family for its members, named after the school's four founders. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

Tom was sorted into Slytherin. Which, by the way, has a reputation as being rather seedy. (The wizards call it Dark.)

During his seven years there, Tom learned that he was the last heir and blood descent from Salazar Slytherin himself, the Founder. He honed his special family ability, the snake tongue, Parseltongue, and killed a muggleborn girl with the help of the basilisk left behind in a secret chamber under the school by his ancestor.

Then he graduated, and began delving into the Dark Arts. The bad magic.

Many years later, Tom Marvolo Riddle has disappeared, and in his place stood the Dark Lord Voldemort. His followers believed as he did, that muggles and muggleborns were filth and needed to be cleaned. The whole world needed to be purged of their "tainted" presence. They were called Death Eaters.

In retrospect, it is a shame Voldemort and his Death Eaters did not use the forest. No doubt it would've been proved escapable long ago.

In the terror and chaos he and his followers created, an opposition was created. Albus Dumbledore, an aging man who had defeated the last Dark Lord, been Tom's Transfiguration teacher and was current Headmaster of Hogwarts, gathered his own followers and created the Order of the Phoenix. Soon, everybody was joining sides.

This war raged for years before finally coming to an end. It was a very surprising end too. Voldemort went after Dumbledore's top people. The powerful pureblood James Potter and his muggleborn wife Lily Potter nee Evans.

With the help of Peter Pettigrew, who became the only soul to know of the Potters' location when they and their infant son Harry went into hiding under a powerful charm, hiding their location literally inside Peter, Voldemort attacked the house on Halloween.

He met little resistance, as neither James nor Lily were quite that powerful enough to stop him, only hinder him. He killed them both. Then he attempted to murder Harry, who he had good reason to believe was prophesied to be able to kill him.

His plan backfired. He shot the fatal Killing curse at baby Harry, but all Harry got was a lightening shaped scar on his forehead. Voldemort, however, received the miraculously rebounded curse and his body was destroyed, his soul fleeing while screaming in utter agony.

Long story short, Harry became the wizarding world's hero, the Boy-Who-Lived, and was sent to live with his muggle relatives. Voldemort spent the next 13 years attempting to come back but was defeated by Harry each time. Finally, when Harry was 14, he regained his body, and the next year, his revival was made public knowledge, after a full year of being denied of having come back.

Then the second war started in full. The summer following his public recognition things had gotten bad enough that the Hogwarts Express was heavily guarded, students checked as they passed and locked into compartments based mainly on class, with the door and window of each compartment warded so that nobody could get in.

The idiots didn't seem to realize that there was no way out, either.

Still, classes mingled. Harry's class was joined by a couple of girls from the year below them. No one noticed the young girl of the same class, but of different House (the students were arranged by year and House. Harry and fellows were Gryffindor, and the only one to stand out was one of the younger girls, who was in Ravenclaw.) also settling in.

It had only been a matter of minutes before the reformed Death Eaters attacked the train. Harry's compartment was at threat, and although the Death Eater couldn't through the wards, he was trying, and everyone knew he would eventually succeed.

They attempted to break the window, but everything seemed to fail against the wards. This was when they took notice of their silent companion, as the girl cursed and quickly seemed to look the window over. Everyone watched frantically, never minding her identity at the moment (They all hated her), as the girl quickly closed her eyes and made some fighting-style moves at a particular spot on the window.

It crumbled without any fight whatsoever.

At Harry's urging, they all went through the now broken window, Harry and the girl going last and shooting a few curses over their shoulders as the Death Eaters now entering their compartment as they ran.

In their terror, none of them noticed that they had run straight into the Forest of Lost Souls.

By the time they did, it was too late. And out of all of them, once they realized where they were, thanks to their savior from the train, only she remained calm and unconcerned.

She knew more then they thought. And she knew they would make it out alive. She herself would see to it, even if it killed her.

Thanks to her, they all did. And this here is their story.

Harry Potter and his friends did some truly amazing things over time, but this had to be the most amazing of them all.

Not only did they come back from the dead, they escaped, and escaped ALIVE, from the Forest of Lost Souls.

Interested? Want to hear the juicy details? Well then, turn the page. Click the mouse. However you are reading this, regardless of whether your muggle or wizard, werewolf or demon, if you want to read more, please continue onward.

I can assure you, as I write this now, that you won't regret it. There is plenty to satisfy your tastes. Adventure, most assuredly. Humor, its there.

More importantly, this is the tale of true survival, and the true blue bonds formed because of it.

The Forest of Lost Souls is aptly and appropriately named.

Not anymore.

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There. Six whole pages of pure prologue. What do ya think? Please review and let me know! 

Werewolf of Suburbia


	2. Acceptance of the Slytherin

New chapter, because I can! Whee!

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Harry and his friends had been having a nice time en route to Hogwarts. They chatted about normal things, argued over normal subjects, and had a nice time eating wizarding candy like any normal wizarding student. None took notice of Amber, the Slytherin orphan that they all hated, hiding miserably on the luggage rack, watching them and wishing, not for the first time, that she wasn't so horrible and undeserving of friendships of any kind.

None of the 11 students minded the fact that they were warded into their compartment as they had a normal ride to Hogwarts for once. Mostly, if they acknowledged it at all, it was random comments about the peace they brought because Amber's Housemate, Draco Malfoy, wasn't able to torment them like he normally did. Amber hated Malfoy not because he was Slytherin, but because he wasn't anything more then his father's brainwashed little robot. He had no opinion of his own, all his opinions were his father's.

It is unfortunate, perhaps, that nothing could ever be normal when in connection to Harry Potter. Even when all seemed normal, it never lasted. It should have been, therefore, no surprise that Death Eaters attacked the Express, and that several attacked Harry's compartment specifically. Harry, however, kept his cool, thankfully, and quickly warded the door further against the Death Eater's attempts to break the wards. He also quickly ordered that someone break the window before they managed to break in.

Amber did not like Death Eaters. The fact that several Death Eaters rich enough to escape Azkaban had murdered her parents before taking her and tormenting her for several years before selling her off had everything to do with it. However, being sold off had had its good points, because Amber learned many things over time, including how to break the window the panicking 6th years didn't seem capable of breaking.

Jumping down off the luggage rack—Aurors had checked them off at the station and shrunk their trunks for them in the process, so the rack was empty since the luggage they would've held were located in their owners' respective pockets—Amber made quick work of inspecting the window. Amber's unique expertise in this allowed her to quickly find fault with the window, and one jump kick later, the group was jumping out of the window and running for cover.

The Hogwarts Express had halted once the attack was underway, and the group took notice only of a forest nearby. Their only thought was that the trees would provide good covering till everything settled down. Harry and Amber were the last out the window, and they shot curses back behind them at the Death Eaters that had, at that point, managed to break down the compartment door. None of the group took notice that the trees they thought would be a good safe haven held the Forest of Lost Souls.

* * *

It was a good ten minutes before anyone noticed anything. Okay, well Amber noticed two minutes in what was going on, but she continued to follow, because the others wouldn't listen to her now if she tried to warn them. It was Luna Lovegood, the Ravenclaw 5th year that first noticed anything. She made quick work of halting the others, and pointed out what was wrong.

"How is it possible that we seem to be in the middle of the forest, in which we'd have to be running hours to get there, when we've only been running ten minutes?" she asked, sounding slightly panicked, and now it had nothing to do with Death Eaters.

"Portals. And plenty of them, from the looks of it." came her answer. Everyone turned to see Amber standing there, looking around curiously, but not seeming too panicked about this. They all sneered at her, before Hermione Granger, one of Harry's best friends and the resident genius of the group adopted in interested look.

"What do you mean, Portals? What Portals?"

"You won't be able to see them, so don't try looking. This here is the Forest of Lost Souls, and it has about a billion and one portals to about ten million and one locations throughout this place. You could take two steps to your left and disappear, only to come back saying you had fallen into a river. Or you could do that and nothing will happen. This is why no one ever comes back from this place. They never do find the single portal that lets out into civilization. It's practically impossible with all the portals within the forest. We're talking your classic needle in a haystack scenario here."

Everyone paled. "You mean, we're doomed?" asked Seamus Finnegan, one of Harry's dorm mates. Before Amber could answer, Hermione's own dorm mate, Lavender Brown, wailed,

"I'm too young to die!" This got an eye roll from Amber herself as she proceeded to answer Seamus.

"No we are not. I've got the talents and the stuff to survive this place for quite a bit—our whole lives, actually—and I'm gonna teach you, if you let me, to do the same. Then, once we are ready and capable, we'll go searching for that elusive portal out, and go home. Or rather, you'll go home. I don't know what I'll do, but I certainly have no home to return to, so it matters little anyway."

Everyone stared. "How can you possibly survive in here? I thought you can't use magic without risking death in here?" asked Neville Longbottom, another of Harry's friends.

"You can't, but there are legal loopholes to that. If you want to see your next birthday, then going around waving your wand for everything isn't something you'll want to do. But if it is dire, then magic can be used, although it would be wise to use simple easy things to do it. Advanced magic will not help, because it depletes you more then simple spells do. This place isn't completely magic free, but it's magical dampening fields make it harder for your magical wells to refill, slowing the process to an almost halt, whereas in places like Hogwarts, you can do anything you want because all the magic running rampant allows for quicker refill time."

"But then how do you survive?" asked Harry's best mate, Ronald Weasley.

"I have lived on the streets a good portion of my life. I have been hurt and abandoned, starved and beaten, overworked and left to rot. In my life, I have learned many things. I have learned to be silent unless absolutely necessary, otherwise it'll bring painful punishments. I have learned how to be practically invisible, to escape more punishments then I have initially gotten, because I have managed to go unnoticed."

Seemingly oblivious to the horrified looks her peers were giving her, Amber took a deep breath and continued. "On the streets is where I learned what is important and what can be adapted to live in a forest, including this one. In a forest or on the streets it's all the same, only the strongest survive and to the victor goes the spoils. If it becomes necessary for you to steal a candy bar from the local sweet shop, then you do it. You learn how to fight in many forms and ways, both fair and how to cheat, in order to keep that candy bar for yourself. If not, you don't make it, because either you have no food, or another takes your candy bar after getting better of you in a fight."

"Animals have known this for forever. Its nature's way of making sure only the best survive, weeding out the bad roots so the good ones have room to grow. The rabbit that gets eaten is not going to have a chance to have children, but the rabbit that managed to escape the hawk will, and will be able to teach his own the same. Then they will be able to continue the cycle. And it will be the hawk that's outta luck. On the streets it is the same. And while we aren't exactly procreating and teaching our progeny like a rabbit will, we still struggle to survive, and sometimes the only way to do that is to prey on the weaker. They may have stolen the candy bar, but we need that candy bar as much as they do, and if we win it after a fight, well, that's all that counts."

"I know how to fight hand to hand, and I can work many various weapons. I have been and seen many environments, and can easily adapt to survive. I can teach you all I know, and you'll survive the streets that way, but I will also teach you how to adapt these techniques to live in a forest. Who says my fighting with switchblades can't become a way to hunt game?"

Dean Thomas, Seamus' best friend, look aghast at Amber. "Is this why you were put into Slytherin?" he asked.

"Slytherins were originally known for their survival, and their sometimes ruthless ways of going about making sure they do that. Something I am well accustomed to, as you know. Of course, now Slytherin is all about being pure." Amber snorted.

"Guys, can I call conference?" asked Harry, looking at Amber almost guiltily. In fact, guilt seemed to be what he tossed Amber's direction.

"Yes. Please, go ahead." replied Amber. Harry looked at Amber before asking the others to conference with him over near a tree, where Amber couldn't possibly hear them.

Amber looked around and observed her surroundings as her peers held some sort of discussion. A couple of glances were shot her way, but Amber ignored them in favor of finding what portals there were in this clearing alone. Cautiously, she poked her head through a couple to see where they led.

"Amber, I'm afraid we have seriously misjudged you and Slytherin in general. We would like to ask your forgiveness, and ask that you teach us what you know, and how to survive. In return, we will help you and give you a family, and then we will all get out of here when the time comes." intoned Harry.

Amber looked at the group and saw nothing but truly sincere faces staring back. "I will teach you, but I reserve trust that I will gain family out of this. I also offer what little forgiveness I can give. I do not hand such things out easily, as I have done so in the past and gotten seriously hurt for it."

"Understood. We accept what you can give, and will help you to be able to give more upon return to the main world, just as you plan to help us survive this forest." agreed Ginny, Ron's younger sister. Amber gave her a heavily doubtful look before shaking her head and pointing out portals she had already scouted. The Gryffindors and single Ravenclaw saw and wondered just how much abuse Amber had glossed over in her brief summary of her past.

"I believe our best bet would to head through that portal, as it takes us as far to the forest's edge as we're gonna get till we find that exit portal. We can scout materials as we go. Neville, I hear you're a wonderful Herboligist, so you need to scout the fruits and veggies spots we can use, as we'll need to gather them for food. Dean, since you're an artist, I'll need you to draw maps, as best as you can, to locate the portals we can use. Harry, with you're power, I'll need you help me scout ahead, and look for portals of any kind. The rest of you keep track of good spots for game hunting, or fishing spots. If we run across any creatures, I want classification, even if it is an unknown. Is this understood?" Amber ordered. She sounded like a leader of some army.

Everyone nodded. "Good. Now everyone hold hands, and hold tight. With all these portals, its possible one of us will fall through and get separated. We do not want this happening, at least not for a good while yet, so we need to stay together. If someone runs into problems, let you partners know, and then they will be expected to tell the rest of us. We're better off in a pack, and as such, we look out for our own. Am I being clear?"

"Clear as crystal."

"Good. Now, grab hands and stay close. Harry, you grab my hand. Everyone ready? FORWARD!"

* * *

The group spent the next few hours going through portals, making note of where they lead, and anything of importance. Eventually, Amber found a portal that lead directly into a cave. Checking the time, she quickly decided to call it a night before it got too late, and led everyone in.

It was a nice cave, large and full of brown-red rocks. Said rocks seemed to give off some sort of weak warming charm, as if in defiance to the magical dampening fields, and it was a rather cozy place for a stone cave. Amber quickly headed towards the middle, and used pebbles to make a small circle.

The others watched as Amber headed back out through the exact same portal as they came in and return about 2 minutes later with an arm full of twigs and small branches. Amber made quick work of dumping the pile within the pebble circle, and began to rub two sticks together. It didn't take long for the muggle-versed within the group to understand that Amber was making a fire.

It took about 5 minutes for Amber to get the fire started, but when it did, it was a cheerful little thing and made the cave all the more cozy.

"Ok. This here cave will do for tonight as a bedroom of sorts. We'll have to make do as is, because we don't really have much of anything to work with quite yet. Now what we need to focus on is unshrinking our trunks. We will do this in a mannerly order, and this will give us more materials to use later, as well as tell us who to really depend on when it becomes absolutely necessary to use magic. We can't have the weakest of us magically using whatever spell we need, because they'll practically kill themselves. The more powerful of us may get tired, or just simply have a dizzy spell, but it will not have so major an effect as it would the weaker. Does this make sense?"

Hermione nodded, as did a couple of the others. "You want us to un-shrink our trunks and see what effects the simple enlarging charm has on us. Those who fare better will become our primary sources of magic when and where it is necessary. Right?" asked Hermione. Amber nodded. Looking at Neville, she stated,

"Sorry Neville, but I have heard things and think that if you really are as weak as I have heard, then perhaps it would be better is one of us enlarge your trunk."

"No problem. I understand perfectly, and besides, at least you apologized. I don't think I know any Slytherins who even have the word 'sorry' in the vocabulary." He grinned.

Amber looked thoughtful. "I think some of the first and second years do, but they quickly grow out of it thanks to people like Lucius Jr."

The Gryffindors snorted. Amber rolled her eyes. "Lucius Jr. is nothing more then his father's perfect little robot. He has no original thought of his own, it is a wonder he even knows how to study and follow instructions given by people other then his father. Why they even named him Draco is a mystery to me. It's not like he has an identity or anything."

Shaking her head, Amber sighed. "Well, let's get started on these trunks. If you wish, I can go first."

It was decided that Seamus would go first, and he had a fair bit of power, getting only a little tired from using the magic. They went around the circle they had unconsciously formed clockwise, and it turned out that Harry had power—big surprise—and Amber had a lot as well, much to her own surprise. Harry had felt slightly dizzy for about a minute, but had otherwise remained unaffected. Amber had not been affected at all.

"Well, now we know who to come to when we really need magic, but for now, we will learn how to survive the way muggles do. However, I think that for tonight, we should settle in as best as possible and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow, we will explore this cave a bit, and see if there are others we can make use of, and make sure we know where other portals are and where they lead. Hopefully, that won't take long, and we can dedicate the afternoon to learning some fight techniques that can be adapted to help us survive in the forest. Maybe I can teach a couple of weapons I know as well."

Everyone began to rifle through their trunks in an attempt to find things to make things more comfortable for them. Most used robes of one kind or another to make the stone floor a bit more comfortable, although it did little for them. They made due.

Amber did not try to make things comfortable for herself. She had slept on the streets, in dungeons and as such, a little stone cave made little difference to her. She did not see her classmates watching her sadly as she retreated to a shadowy corner of the cave, and curl up into a protective little ball, face buried in her arms. She looked sad and lonely sleeping by herself in the shadowed little corner, and most thought that had the stones been emitting cooling charms rather then heating ones, she wouldn't have noticed the difference.

Harry quickly gathered the group together and had another conference.

"Guys, I know that Amber plans on teaching us how to survive our stay here, but we need to help her more then she needs to help us. She's obviously been heavily abused, although to what extent, I haven't the slightest. I highly doubt she'll tell us unless we managed to persuade her to tell us about her life in its entirety. I also think that we can start helping her tonight."

"By doing what?" asked Parvarti.

"We all saw how much she doubted Ginny when Gin said that we'd give her a family. We can start now by moving ourselves over to her. Better yet, we can move her over to us, since we're all sleeping near the fire, but she chose the corner far away. We may have to force her, as abuse at her caliber will probably have taught her that she is undeserving of even the horrible treatment she does get, but we need to start now, and we can start now by have her sleep with us." answered Harry.

It took less time then one would think for the others to agree, and they managed, after a long 10 minutes, to move Amber from her solitary corner, to a spot surrounded by the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione, with Ginny and Luna enclosing her in. The girl looked so stunned and confused, that it was the others could do not to start cursing her abusers and try hexing them in their imagination.

Needless to say, that night, 10 out of the 11 students dreamt of meeting faceless people dressed as both muggle and wizard, and hexing them so bad they were no longer recognizable after they were done. The final student simply had her usual dreams, watching her parents' murder, and suffering again and again through the torture her life became afterwards.

Amber's whimpers were muffled behind a silencing charm Amber had long ago learned to cast unconsciously, as her classmates slept on, completely unaware of her torment.

Then again, no one had ever been aware of her torment before, save those that kept causing it. No one had ever cared before.

So why should they start now?


	3. Flashback Central

Yea! Another chapter. And thanks to my reviewer. I hope you like these chapters. Now I'm gonna fast forward a bit, but there will be plenty of mention of what happened during the lost time. In all honesty, it really isn't much, outside of training and surviving. Real entertaining stuff—not. By the way, I'm bringing in two other characters I just happen to like.

* * *

Sirius Black was not having a good day. First, he finds himself battling a handful of Death Eaters bent on killing him, and then he and his best friend, werewolf Remus Lupin, end up in the Forest of Lost Souls. The forest that ends your life, regardless of how old you are, because you can't escape. The forest that had claimed his godson's life.

It was November; a couple of months after his beloved godson, Harry Potter, and his classmates had disappeared into this forest. Winter was settling in with biting cold and miserable frost and snow, and Sirius knew that even if Harry and his friends had survived the fall; they wouldn't be alive now, not in this cold.

Sirius blinked back the sudden tears the thought of his godson brought. Sirius still wasn't over Harry, and nearly killed himself in grief if it hadn't been for the Order. The irony that Sirius was to meet the same end as Harry was not lost on him. He could still remember the funerals…

_Flashback_

_It was September 23rd, and Sirius Black was sitting in the last place he wanted to be. It seemed like more then the2 and a half weeks it had been. Only 2 and a half weeks ago, Sirius had lost his only purpose for living, Harry Potter. His godson, who he loved like a son._

_Today was his funeral. Sirius was barely acknowledging anything much anymore, not since learning from Albus Dumbledore himself that Harry, his whole class and Ginny and Luna had been seen running into the Forest of Lost Souls with another girl, who turned out to be Amber the Slytherin. _

_Vaguely, Sirius acknowledged that Molly Weasley was sobbing uncontrollably into her husband's shoulder. Arthur wasn't doing much better. They had lost two kids, Ron and Ginny—their youngest—and they both saw Harry and Hermione as adopted children. It was hard to tell who was more devastated—Sirius or Molly. _

_The whole Weasley clan had shown up for the funerals, and none were happy. Bill and Charlie were holding on to each other tightly, trying not to cry and failing miserably. A pale-faced Percy sat by himself in a corner, upset and miserable, looking guilty that Ron and Ginny had died thinking that Percy was a git and that he hated the whole family. Even Fred and George looked upset, pale and wide-eyed; obviously trying not to believe what was in front of their eyes. _

_Augusta Longbottom sat near Neville's empty coffin, bawling like no other in mourning for her grandson. The only one to outclass her tears was Hagrid's own loud tears from where the half-giant was sitting near the back._

_The other Gryffindors' families were also there, mourning the loss of their children, or sibling. The only two people who had no one there for them were Amber and Luna. Amber had nobody who remotely cared for her—which Sirius briefly acknowledged was sad in and of itself—and Luna's only living relative was her father, Apollo, who had killed himself a week ago from overworking in an attempt to forget his beloved daughter was dead, just as his beloved wife had been for several years. _

_Albus Dumbledore led the funeral, saying a few words on each, save Amber, and inviting several people up to talk as well. Sirius barely acknowledged any of this, instead staring blankly at Harry's empty coffin. _

_Sirius vaguely remembered standing in front of Harry's tombstone, located next to his parents', for a long time before Remus came and gently dragged him away. The last remaining Black had not been the same since. _

_End Flashback_

To make things worse, two Hogwarts Professors, Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall, had been tossed in with them. Minerva was in tears, and apparently the irony of their situation was not lost on her. Snape's face was carefully blank, but he was in fact lost in a memory. The memories of Hogwarts when the group had disappeared.

_Flashback_

_The professors had quickly reported to the station when the Hogwarts Express rolled in, and had them ordered into house groups, lined up by class. Then he and he other heads quickly made sure everything was in order._

_Unfortunately for Severus, Filius Flitwick and Minerva, it wasn't. Severus was missing Amber, his most hated member of House, although he himself knew that she was not what they saw her as. He recognized abuse when he saw it, and Amber had been abused, horribly. He was thinking of approaching the girl this year and figuring out just how bad it really was, and how she came to be such. _

_Filius was missing a single student as well, Luna Lovegood. Luna wasn't well liked either, because of her spacey ways, but at least she had a few friends. Most of them were in Gryffindor. _

_And they were all missing. Minerva was distraught upon discovering Ginny, a 5th year missing, and even more so when she discovered her entire 6th year class missing too. She was nearly in hysterics, although most students were so shaken up by the attack that they made little notice._

_Albus quickly talked with the Aurors to see of they had noticed anything and they had. They had seen a large group of students running from the tracks, dodging a couple of curses and throwing their own back as they went, and disappear into a nearby forest. Albus had paled drastically upon learning this, as did the teachers that heard, including Severus. They knew only one forest the Express had to pass, and that was the Forest of Lost Souls. _

_If their students had run into there, then they were already too late. _

_Severus prayed that Amber would find happiness with her parents, as she couldn't find it here. Minerva was given a calming drought to help her through the sorting, and life went on. However, it had drastically changed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_Minerva never got over her students, although neither did Severus or Filius. It was hard going to class or meals, because it reminded them so much of their missing students. A whole place at Gryffindor was empty, where the 6th years usually sat. Luna and Amber's seat were also empty. _

_Classes were most difficult. Severus would go into double 6th year Potions, and see his Slytherins, but Amber's shadowed corner seat in the far back was empty. So was the half the entire classroom where the Gryffindors normally sat. Severus would turn around at a explosion, ready to verbally abuse Neville or Harry, but found himself facing neither. It had been Crabbe or Goyle or Bulstrode who'd messed up. Neither Harry nor Neville was there to mess up anymore potions. Amber, who usually stayed silent and unnoticed in back, was missed._

_Their beds were removed, leaving Gryffindor tower feeling mighty empty, missing a whole dormitory. Severus had stolen Amber's bed and things, and placed them in his room, wanting to remember the abused child who had been heavily misunderstood. Maybe she would've forgiven him if he gave his help. He didn't know, and now it was too late…_

_End flashback_

Severus thought about Amber, and wondered what her final moments in this forest had been like. Had she even been afraid? Or had she simply accepted it, perhaps even welcomed it, waiting to be reunited with the parents that had loved her? The only people who had.

* * *

None of the foursome had noticed that they had company, but they did. Hidden in the bushes, staring at them in curiosity, was one of the two people they were thinking about. Amber the Slytherin exchanged glances with Ginny Weasley, and raised an eyebrow in question. Ginny nodded, and Amber made a soft whistle, heard only by they and the surrounding animals, but completely unnoticed by the 4 in the clearing.

A Sarloos and a Jobita came over and looked at Amber curiously. Their mistress made a hand gesture that they knew to understand to mean "Stay down and wait for my signal", and obeyed. Amber nodded at them and Ginny, acknowledging them before creeping up towards the adults currently in the throes of despair.

As it was, Remus heard her coming before the others and stilled. Shushing the ranting Sirius, he watched the bushes around him with wide fearful eyes, expecting an animal. What he got was something he never would have expected in a million years, not even if you had forewarned him.

The adults all gawked when their expected animal turned out to be human. A young girl, no older then the majority of the group that had gotten lost in this forest before them, slowly approached them, looking like a animal that was expecting to be attacked at any moment.

She was tall and lean, but nicely muscled, and had a tan despite the late season. Her hair was long and curly, although it seemed to be a natural thing, as the messy dirty look to it—complete with leaves and twigs stuck within the strands—told the adults that it hadn't seen a bath, at least a real one, for quite some time. Her eyes held a wild look to them that only comes with living in the forest for a long while, and in her left hand there was what appeared to be a small dagger, ready and waiting to be used for any number of purposes.

She was dressed in robes, signifying a magical heritage, although they were torn and ragged, and easily allowed her free movement among the trees and underbrush. She seemed rather part of the scenery, whereas they themselves were out of place. How long she had been living in this forest was unknown, as that look could be gained from having been here 2 months, or her whole life.

And yet, there was a haunted look to those eyes, eyes that were a beautiful ocean color that held more shadows then it should. The strawberry blond hair was not really recognizable, but those eyes were Amber the Slytherin's biggest trademark. And Severus knew it. Which is how Severus Snape found himself staring at what he knew to be Amber herself, the very girl he had been thinking of, approaching him and his companions as she would a wild animal.

"Amber? Is that you? Please say it is." he pleaded. Remus, Sirius and Minerva all looked at him funny, before the name he had called registered. As far as they knew, Severus Snape only knew one Amber, and that Amber was his former student, the one that had been lost, as the others had, to this despicable forest.

"Professor Snape. Professor McGonagall. Master Black and Master…?" the calm emotionless voice, so like Amber's usually was back in school, trailed off in askance, as she obviously did not know Remus. Remus himself answered her unasked question in a voice full of shock and disbelief.

"Remus. Remus Lupin."

"Master Lupin. Welcome to the Forest of Lost Souls. As you obviously already know, I am Amber the Slytherin. Waiting for my signal is Ginny Weasley. Would you like her to join us?" the dead voice only Amber could do so well asked. Severus wanted to murder someone, namely himself. Why didn't he recognize and treat her abuse sooner? She was obviously as healthy as she could get, living in this forest, and with the others, so the abuse had ended, but she still knew of the abuse she had suffered under them, or expected to suffer under them. This was the exact same way she had always acted when forced to interact with anybody outside of the two small stuffed animals that served as a reminder of times when Amber actually knew love and had a happy childhood.

"G-G-Ginny?" squeaked Minerva, tears of joy starting their way down her aging cheeks. Amber nodded, her pose as submissive as it would get after living in the forest had reconditioned her natural body language, and motioned with a single hand. Severus noted that her dagger still remained at ready, although Amber seemed disinclined to use it on them.

The bushes rustled again as a young red head, as lean and muscular as Amber, but a year younger then her, with brown eyes that held the exact same wild look slinked into view. Ginny Weasley had changed drastically, and all it took was a glance at the small knife she held at ready, and the natural way she held her body tense at all times. Gone was the innocent, trusting young Gryffindor bent on crushing on Harry Potter. In her place stood a young warrior that, even with the war raging in a fiery inferno, should not have come about for many more years to come.

Minerva sobbed, although Severus wasn't entirely sure if it was out of joy to see the girl, or if his former Transfiguration professor was upset at the changes wrought in the girl. He himself was seeing changes to Amber, but her abuse was such that she had already done her drastic child-into-war-veteran shift at a far younger age. Amber had never given her trust, had never known love, not since the death of her parents, and Severus knew this. And cursed himself for not helping her when he had the chance.

Sirius looked ready to cry, or fling himself at the two girls' feet as he stared at them.

"Ginny? But if you're still here, does that mean Harry…?" Sirius daren't ask if Harry was alive, as if doing so would jinx it so that he wasn't. In answer, he was proved that the old Ginny had not disappeared entirely, as the youngest Weasley gave the dog animagus a soft smile.

"We're all alive, Sirius. Harry too. We're all alive." she stated softly. Amber looked at Sirius through masked eyes, and made another hand signal. Nothing happened though, not as far as the adults knew. They did not see two creatures, one baring resemblance to some type of wolf, the other a cat, rush off into a nearby portal. Amber's pets had their orders. Fetch the Alpha and bring him here. They needed to find and lead Harry James Potter, male alpha of the pack the group of students had become, to Amber and Ginny. And they needed to do it now.

Amber and Ginny slowly sat, and stiffly put away their blades, looking like they would rather do anything else but. They seemed to settle in for a wait, although it didn't seem as if they expected the wait to be overly long. 5 minutes maybe.

* * *

About 3 minutes later, Amber and Ginny heard the approach of footsteps, and stood up, ready and waiting. They easily recognized the gait as belonging to one Harry James Potter, and knew he would be here within moments. Seconds later, Harry himself emerged from the bushes, closest to Remus. Werewolf senses told the werewolf that this was indeed Harry, but Harry had changed too.

The 4 adults eyed the newcomer, this one male. Long raven hair was just as messy as the girls', and familiar emerald green eyes stared around their surroundings with curiosity. He was only slightly taller then the two girls, and held a more muscular frame then the petite curvy forms of his female counterparts. He was still lean, although not as much so, and the trademark glasses and lightening bolt scar gave away his identity. Harry James Potter stood before them, and he had changed just as much as Ginny Weasley.

"Ha-Har-Harry?" Sirius choked out, nearly breaking into sobs right then and there. The heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black wanted to crush Harry in a hug and never let go again, while sobbing the rest of his life away in pure happiness. Had anyone glanced at Remus Lupin, they would see much the same desire in his warm amber eyes.

Amber watched, eyes showing faint amusement, as Harry whirled around at his godfather's croak, knife in hand, only to almost drop it in shock at the vision before him. Amber knew, perhaps better then the others, that Harry had missed Sirius and even Remus so desperately it was almost painful. Amber had spent many nights offering Harry silent support and comfort for something Amber herself never felt, and couldn't even begin to imagine.

Ginny was also looking heavily amused by this as she watched Harry make a similar croak using Sirius' name, before taking in the others. Amber glanced at Ginny, and silently communicated that she had served her purpose for now, and was dismissed. Perhaps she would be good enough to find at least the others in the caves and give them some forewarning?

Ginny nodded in understanding, and bolted back into the bushes, already headed back towards the caves where the group made their home. Harry, Sirius and Remus did not notice, too caught up in a happy reunion. Minerva was caught up in watching them, and Severus had been as well. He only took notice when Ginny's movement had caught his attention. As near as he could tell, Ginny had left on her own.

Amber was Alpha as much as Harry was, and calmly stood off to the side, silent and shadowed as she always had been when she had been at Hogwarts. There was a slight look of longing on her face, and Severus noticed. Harry did too. Both of them could almost read Amber's mind as the abused witch thought about if this was how having a loving family was like.

Finally though, she had to cut things short.

"Harry, I know you are happy beyond belief right about now, but perhaps it would be better suited to continue this back home? Ginny has already warned at least a couple of the others, surely they would like to greet our newest inmates too?"

Harry nodded, and none of the adults missed his wince when Amber spoke of 'home'. Standing up, he helped Remus and Sirius up, while Amber offered her two professors a hand. Both made sure they each had a hand full of another's before slowly leading the adults through the forest towards their caves with practiced ease.

* * *

A drastically different Ronald Weasley greeted them rather happily at the entrance. Most of the group had been called back when Ginny had informed them of the foursome's arrival, and Luna and Dean came in just seconds after they did. The group greeted their professors ecstatically, and Amber went unnoticed. So she thought.

Harry and Severus noted that Amber easily took being shunted aside, and headed off somewhere, Harry recognizing the path towards the smaller caves where they had made their rooms. Obviously, she was going to check out for any empty caves that the adults could be given for use. Harry thought she was probably going to see what extra weapons she had left to teach them as well.

After a happy tear-filled half hour, the group settled down around a cheerfully burning fire, and talked animatedly with one another. Amber, Harry and Severus noted, was gone a full hour and when she came back, the whole group got quiet, although it took Minerva, Remus and Sirius a minute to catch on.

With worried eyes, Luna and the Gryffindors watched Amber take her usual spot between Hermione and Seamus, and stare across the fire into the black orbs of Severus Snape.

"Would you like to tell us of the outside world first, or would you rather we tell of ourselves first?' she asked in voice that belied nothing, nor held nothing. The adults noticed that the other teenagers exchanged glances, mouthing curses to one another, although Amber didn't seem to notice. Apparently, this Amber was not a good thing.

"If you wouldn't mind, I think we would like you to go first. We all thought you dead, so we would dearly like to know how it has come to pass that you are still breathing." answered Severus neutrally. Amber nodded acquiescence, and began.

_Flashback_

_The first night was rough on the teenagers, save Amber, and all woke groaning and cursing. Amber took no notice, as she quickly began to ration what little candy the group had combined the night before for breakfast. Amber spent the meal looking around. Once breakfast was over, and the others had mostly gotten over the rough night, Amber took command once again. _

"_Alright, we are going to splint into pairs. I want every pair to stay together and use these vines as ropes, so you do not get lost. We are exploring today. Dean, you and Neville explore around here, see if there are any portals that lead to small caves we can use as bedrooms. This cave makes a better common room then bedrooms. Seamus, you and Ginny can scout fishing spots, and see if you can actually catch anything. Hermione and Lavender I want scouting good hunting spots, perhaps classify some animals they see along the way. The rest of you can stay here, and I'll begin training you on street fighting, hand-to-hand. After lunch, we will dedicate several hours learning weapons, and then we'll have dinner and exchange info on what we came across today. Is this agreed?" _

_Everyone did in fact agree, and the groups left for their assignments. They used the vines Amber had cut down and brought with her to help them not get lost while straying too far from the cave, and managed to do some nice spotting. Seamus actually caught a couple of fish, and brought them back later that afternoon for lunch. They all looked beyond excited as Amber unpacked all her weapons, and most chose their preferred weapon. Amber's two or three swords went untouched while the group ate up her daggers and switchblades. Amber spent the afternoon teaching them the basics. _

_Dinner that night was more fish and a couple of candy bars, and the group exchanged information. Dean mapped it out to the best of his ability, before he and Neville led the group through several portals and showed them each some rooms. Parvarti and Lavender chose to room together, as did Seamus and Dean, but the rest of the group chose individual bedrooms out of smaller, but still rather roomy caves. _

_Over the course of time, things got easier for the teenagers. An earthly room was found and turned into Neville's personal greenhouse. Amber taught them everything she knew on fighting and weaponry and the group as a whole had a nice time bonding over spearing a horse-like creature with a dagger, or catching fish in a pond. It was decided that they would stay the winter months inside the cave, and in spring, perhaps try to find the way out._

_So, life went on. The group became expert hunters and gathers, going back to the very basic of human living, and surviving in the only way they could. Food was brought back to the caves, were some of it was eaten, and some of it stored for the winter. When the group of Harry, Ron and Luna accidentally killed a mother Sarloos, it was decided to raise the pups, who wouldn't have survived otherwise. But Amber, who had become a sort of unofficial leader, made sure that the others understood that if things got real bad, then the animals would have to go. _

_Nights were spent helping Amber, just as she had originally spent them helping them. Amber had had a hellish life and it showed. The group supported her through everything, and helped her heal like nobody ever had before. They didn't mind repeating things over and over till Amber understood and accepted the concept the repeated phrases were conveying. _

_Sometimes, nights were the times when brooding were done. Harry would sob over the thought of Sirius, and how devastated his godfather would be, going through life thinking he was dead. The others would think of their own parents and their grief at having supposedly lost their own children, and the guilt that always followed the thought. Amber would, more often then not, be the one to silently comfort and support them. Assure them that they couldn't help it right now, and why don't you try thinking instead of how happy your family will be when we get out of here?_

_The group would then in turn give that comfort and support right back when Amber would stare blankly into the fire and think of her parents, and her life in general. Such moods were never any good for Amber, because then she would "relapse" in a sense, back into the shell she had been in Hogwarts. And when Amber became her shell, it was very, very difficult to get her to come back out again._

_The group was haunted at night by nightmares. The Gryffindors and single Ravenclaw understood that their nightmares differed greatly from Amber's own. They dreamt about their family committing suicide, or how awful their funerals would be, with their grieving families staring into empty coffins. The guilt that they were causing their loved ones so much sorrow, and unable to do anything about it, weighed heavily upon them. _

_Amber, in turn, had much worse problems then guilt at causing her family sorrow. Her dreams were overflowing with Death Eaters, Dementors, cruel "owners", and hateful peers. Her parents were tortured and killed before her again and again every night, as her own tortured, pain-filled screams and passionate pleas for mercy that she would never receive echoed in her ears. Even the tears she shed within the dreams tasted salty and bitter. And she was always so alone…_

_End flashback_

"It has taken a bit of work, but we've managed to keep Amber from placing silencing charms around her, and allow us to help her with her nightmares." concluded Parvarti.

The adults were horrified at what little insight they had gained into Amber's life. Severus had thought it bad, but this was worse. He cursed himself even more harshly then before for not helping her when he had the chance.

The adults went into what happened outside while they were stuck in the forest, ending at their current predicament of being stuck inside the forest themselves. The group of students was rather horrified that their families were in such disrepair thanks to their deaths, and Luna especially was upset that her death had been cause for her father's own.

Amber sighed, and then seemed to check her internal clock, before standing and announcing that it was bedtime. Harry, Seamus and Hermione led the 4 adults towards the rooms, allowing them to pick and choose their own, and explaining how to make beds and shelves. Remus decided to share with Sirius.

* * *

Later that night, Harry found Amber staring blankly into the dimming flames in the common room. Amber was obviously a million miles away, but Harry decided to investigate the problem anyway.

"Amber? What's up?"

"Had another nightmare. My first multi-rape. Nearly forgotten it."

"Oh? And why did you suddenly remember your first forced orgy?"

"Severus Snape had been invited to participate by Lucius. He came, but when he saw that their target was a 5 year old girl, he made a last minute decision to sit it out. "Wanted to see if she had any worth" he'd said."

"That's horrible. And wrong. They were hurting you Amber, and you did not deserve it, even though they probably said you did. What brought up this memory anyway? The fact that Snape is now going to be part of the group?"

"Nobody has ever been kind to me till you guys. What if they see me as nothing more then a slimy Slytherin, undeserving of even your kindness? I realize now that you are family, the first one I've had since my parents' murder. What if they decided I am unworthy? Will that mean that I will loose the first family I've had since I was 3?"

Harry sat down next to Amber and pulled the distraught child into his arms. Drawing her into his lap, he hugged her tightly and perhaps a bit protectively as well. Amber had become his sister, and Harry would never abandon her, not even for Sirius and Remus.

"No Ambs. Sirius and Remus may reject me, but I pick you over them. They would be wrong to assume that you are unworthy, because you are very worthy. You're my sister Amber, and you always will be. I will never abandon you, I promise. Neither will the others." Amber sobbed.

"That's right. You're one of us, whether you like it or not and nothing will tear us apart, including our own families." agreed Hermione, as she and the others came out and surrounded Amber. They all gave her hugs and gentle reassurances.

It was a late night before the teenagers finally went to bed. When they finally did, Amber was found curled up next to Luna in Luna's room, the Ravenclaw snuggled up against her, an unconscious assurance that Amber would not be abandoned, regardless of what she thought. Her family was there for her, through thick and thin, and that was all there was to it.

None of them noticed the adults eavesdropping on the conversation, or the fact that Amber the Slytherin had just become a big part of their lives as well. Amber deserved the fair chance she never got, and besides, turning against Amber would lose them the students, of whom some were family.

Amber would get her chance, and she would earn their love, because Amber wanted nothing else but. And it was about time Amber got what she wanted.

And they were just the people to give it to her.


	4. Padfoot Vs Stardancer

Remus groaned as he woke up. He felt something hard underneath him, and it was extremely uncomfortable. It felt like stone. Hearing sniggering, he opened his eyes to see Harry watching him wake up with the biggest grin on his face. His emerald eyes practically howled in mirth at Remus' rather obvious discomfort.

"Good morning to you too. Where are we?" the werewolf asked, as he looked around. This certainly didn't look like his room, nor his temporary bedroom in the Shrieking Shack, which is were he was supposed to be. After all, full moon had been last night…

"Your room. You remember it don't you? You share it with Sirius, and mine's right next door…." Harry answered cheekily.

Remus did remember it then. He had just had his first transformation with the group now stuck in the Forest of Lost Souls. Almost instantly, Remus shot up, looking beyond worried as he began to question Harry rapidly,

"Is everyone okay, did I escape, please tell me I didn't bite anyone, was Padfoot able to control me…"

"Remus calm down. Everyone is fine. In fact, Nev is busy in his greenhouse, Minerva is dueling Sirius in hand-to-hand with Amber supervising, Luna, Ginny and Seamus have gone out hunting and Dean and Lav went fishing. Parvarti is helping 'Mione and Severus make a couple of healing potions—a couple specifically for you, I believe—and Ron is helping Nev harvest some of his plants. Amber told me to keep an eye on you, so here I am."

"Did I bite anyone?" asked Remus almost fearfully. Harry looked at Remus and sighed.

"Well, it was pretty rough at first. You managed to escape your room, and Padfoot was on your heels, but you kinda charged the common room, where the rest of us were. Padfoot stopped you from infecting Ron and Neville, Severus was terrified out of his wits, and I'm afraid that you didn't help matters by trying to bite him either. But Amber…"

Harry trailed off as he thought about his sister. What was Amber thinking, standing in front of the demented werewolf like that? She took everything so calmly too. And what about what happened to her after the bite. Certainly no one had reacted to a werewolf bite like THAT before.

"Amber what? Oh God, Amber what?" Remus nearly screeched.

"Amber stood in front of you and blocked your path anytime you tried to bite anybody else. Finally you gave in and jumped her and well, you bit her, but I think she wanted you to. And you're gonna be very surprised when you see her, because she had the weirdest reaction to the venom…"

Remus was astounded. How could anyone want a werewolf to bite them? Was Amber insane? And what was Harry talking about, a reaction to the venom?

"Reaction?" he echoed. Harry nodded. Without a word or sound, Harry beckoned, and Remus followed him to the commons. There he found everything as he said. Severus, Parvarti and Hermione were huddled in the corner set aside for Potions, Severus stirring the currently bubbling cauldron. Sirius and McGonagall were on the other side of the common room, sparring. From the looks of it, Sirius was winning, but Minerva was giving it everything she had, and given her age, wasn't doing too bad. Luna, Dean, Ginny, Lavender, Seamus, Neville and Ron were no where in sight.

Amber was located over in the same area as the two fighting adults. She was watching Sirius and Minerva fight and calling out pointers to both combatants every great once in a while. However, the ocean eyes watching the fight were now wolf in origin, and tainted with a golden color. And if that wasn't bad enough, a set of matching wolf ears and tail adorned her figure, making her look like some sort of wolf demon.

"How…?" Remus was officially confused beyond belief.

"Remus, I wish to thank you. By biting me last night, you have awakened my wolven heritage, something I am not entirely certain I would have received without such assistance. You have my gratitude." Amber said in response. Speaking reveled to Remus a nice set of fangs, and he could see a nice set of matching claws were Amber's nails had once been.

"Is that why you grew fangs and a tail when Remus bit you? But how did you come by a werewolf ancestry? Most countries ban werewolves from mating and having kids." asked a confused looking Harry.

"Most countries do not have minorities within their borders that follow their own rules. My mother had some Native American in her blood, and all Indian tribes are connected to nature, and see it as a family extension. They do not prevent the mating and breeding of certain people because they turn into a wolf on full moons. In fact, many saw werewolves as special mystic men or something. It was an honor to be their spouse, and have their children. The whites were too late to stop these things from happening, and even then, the Indians refused to follow such stupid and confining laws. From what little I know, Native Americans are still allowing their werewolf members to breed. Much to the American Ministries' horror."

Amber looked entirely too smug about that. Then again, the group had learned that Amber hated the government in every way. And she had a personal vendetta against magical government, England's in particular. The fact that her ancestors had managed to defy said government, and continued doing so to this day, probably made her do a happy dance every time she heard about it.

"And they don't execute these creatures? Their mates and children?" asked Hermione.

"The Indians won't let them. And if you know anything about Native American magic, it has far more powerful and reaching outcomes then the kind Hogwarts teaches. They are very good about raising the dead, summoning spirits and giving them physical body again, even though it isn't always the spirit's original form. They could kill the same werewolf about 10 times, and their tribe will still keep bringing them back to life, and the curse along with it. This happened consistently till about 1902, when the magical governments in the US just gave up, and allowed them to do as they please."

"So this allows you to have werewolf-born blood in your veins, amongst other things." said Minerva in understanding. "But what did Remus biting you have anything to do with it?"

"Wizards reach magical maturity at 17. Then they get whatever inherited power they have. Technically, my wolf heritage could come when I am 17. But I am uncertain. Most of the powers that have been bred into my family, and into me, over the centuries have lain dormant for a long time. I am unsure if I would stand to gain these powers or not upon my 17th birthday. So, I bypassed the problem by directly solving it. Remus' werewolf venom kinda kick started my wolf blood. Had it been activated at age 17, the same thing would've more then likely happened."

Amber shrugged, uncaring. It wouldn't have killed her, at any rate, so to her it made little difference. Looking at Minerva and Sirius she asked, "Who won?"

"Me!" cried Sirius cheerfully. Amber nodded, congratulating the younger animagus on his win.

"No offense Aunt Min, but I kinda expected it. In a fight, be it the forest or the streets, age is one things that determines a fight. Experience plays a more vital part, but age can be your biggest advantage or disadvantage. The older you are the more chance you won't make it, particularly if your opponent is younger then you. You have at least a decade or two that Sirius doesn't have, and that will slow you down a bit. Sirius will be much faster then you, because he is younger."

Minerva nodded. It made sense. Sirius managed to escape her much easier then, say, Albus Dumbledore, because he could move much quicker then a man Albus' age. Minerva acknowledged that she was a good fighter, but she was not getting any younger, and her body couldn't take the challenge someone, say, Harry's age would present her.

Amber looked around, and decided something. Looking at her former Transfiguration professor and the ex-convict, she asked, "I have all the powers of a natural wolf, including the ability to become my other half anytime I want. Which of you would like to spar with me in a one-on-one animagus battle?"

Sirius was replaced with Padfoot before anyone could comment. Amber smirked.

"This will be interesting, to be sure. The majestic wolf against her dumber spoiled domestic cousin. Who will win, do you think?" Then Amber transformed herself into a beautiful sliver, black and white wolf.

Padfoot growled, accepting Amber's spoken and unspoken challenge and got into a battle stance. Amber gave a grin, baring a mouth full of fangs, but did nothing. She seemed to be waiting for Sirius to make the first attack. Her now completely golden eyes watched the black grim-dog as it began circling the tri-colored wolf, obviously looking for an opening to attack.

It is truly a measure of how much the group had changed since entering the forest that Sirius waited and circled Amber. Had this "fight" taken place before they had gotten lost, Sirius would've had thrown himself at her without a single thought, brash Gryffindor that he was. Amber's tutoring had shown him how to win a battle using Slytherin cunning and Ravenclaw intelligence.

Then again, Amber had changed drastically too. Before the forest, she would not have challenged him to the duel at all, and if forced to fight, would've been cowering, if a bit subtly, and terrified out of her wits. She would not be standing there, following with her eyes, but otherwise remaining unmoving.

In the end, Sirius did make the first move. Amber had sat on her hunches, tail curled around her front paws, and done nothing. Sirius attempted to tackle her, throwing his body full force at her, but Amber was quicker on the draw, and Sirius found himself flying through air. Harry had gone to fetch Neville and Ron from the greenhouse, and he laughed himself silly when his godfather landed with an undignified 'THUWMP!' on the floor. He landed on his front paws and his face, and momentum carried him to crash land into the nearby wall.

Padfoot growled at his godson, who was too busy howling in mirth to notice, and sent a betrayed look to Remus. Remus didn't notice either, rolling on the floor as he was. Not that anybody else was in much better condition, most crying from laughing so hard. Neville managed to comment through his laughter that it was a shame that those who went out had to miss it, it was so hilarious.

Snuffling in a shadowed corner proved that Amber had found that rather amusing as well. The wolf was silently quaking in mirth, but was doing rather well at suppressing her laughter. For a minute, Sirius had to stop and mentally curse her abusers to Hell. No doubt laughter had been banned from Amber's life for a long while. Too long.

Padfoot growled, although he made sure it had nothing to do with Amber specifically, and charged at Amber once more. The wolf ducked, and Padfoot crashed into the wall once again. The rest of the group howled even louder, and Amber and Sirius both knew this was going into the next pensieve the minute they got out. Sirius wouldn't have been surprised in the least if it was shown to the Great Hall of Hogwarts upon their return.

By now, the hunters and fishers had returned, and looked more then a little lost at finding a wolf and a dog—both of which they recognized as Amber and Sirius—seemingly facing off, and the rest of the group incapable of breathing from laughing too hard. Amber the wolf seemed on the verge of collapse herself, but her snuffling proved she was just trying to stop laughing herself.

They quickly got into the swing of things, though, because for the next half an hour or so, Padfoot about knocked himself out all by himself on the stone walls. Padfoot was acting more and more Gryffindor as the battle went on, and Amber didn't seemed inclined to do anything about it. For the next half an hour, Padfoot the Grim repeatedly launched himself bodily at Amber the wolf. For the next half an hour, Padfoot would repeatedly make three-point landings on his two front paws and his face as Amber simply evaded or ducked. This would lead Padfoot to go crashing into the stone walls.

Perhaps the fact that he never really hit the wall overly hard allowed Padfoot to take more then one crash. In any case, the battle was over within moments as Amber easily used her increased size and mass to pin the very much so dazed Padfoot to the stone floor. When Amber transformed back after a breathless and still laughing Severus declared her the victor, she was smirking and looking very smug.

She waited till Sirius had transformed back before she finally released her laughter. Of course, the fact that the still dazed animagus had forgotten to vanish his floppy ears and black fur didn't help. Amber laughed long, hard and loud, and despite their own humor, the rest of the group had a collective feeling that it wasn't just the situation that allowed Amber the release. She had a lot of laughter to make up for.

Harry cooked dinner that night out of some fish that Dean had caught that day, and the whole group continued to giggle and snicker over Padfoot's self-defeat. Sirius grumbled about it, but he sat next to Amber and the arm swung causally around her shoulder and his easy-going body language allowed Amber to know that he held nothing against her. At least personally.

Amber herself just grinned and tried to downplay the fight, which the laughing cheerful group continued to escalate into something worthy of a Final Battle between hero and Dark Lord. Maybe even more.

Amber's familiars just watched the group with a classic 'you are all insane' look to their faces. The Sarloos, named Ulrik, and the Jobita, named Orea, did not see what the heck was so funny about the fight. In their professional opinion, the black dog was the most retarded fighter on the planet. Their point of view was limited to the simple question concerning the creature. How on earth had he survived so long?

The other Sarloos, Ulrik's brother and sister, had been helping the hunters bring in meat, and did not see the fight. They caught the end, and saw nothing but a more superior wolf beat a dog in a fight. Near as they could tell, the fight lasted 10 seconds. Still, they were still giving the laughing group 'you are insane' looks.

The group had a great time around the fire that night. Soon, however, the group got tired and one by one headed to bed. It was a mark of change in the group as a whole that several of them went out with a significant other. The group had paired off, although they were still all one big family.

Forests have ways of changing things. Really, it was true for all dwelling places. Animals adapted to life within these places, and if they didn't, they died out. Dinosaurs and Wooly Mammoths could not adapt, and no longer exist. Humans are the most complex creatures on the planet, although they truthfully do not know it.

As such they could survive just about anything. They could and would fall back on basic survival when necessary. And basic survival had only a few simple rules. If it can be used for food, use it. Make sure to map all water sources, and make sure to mate before your life is over in order to carry on the legacy.

The group stuck in the Forest had not mated yet, they knew they weren't ready, but that didn't stop them form choosing their wanted mate. So, they coupled off, including the adults. Soon, the only person left in the common room was Amber. Without a word, she started humming as she cleaned up the Potions corner and the sparring area. It was a rather cheerful sounding tune, and with it came the only happy memories Amber had.

Severus had come back, as had Hermione, when they noticed that their lonely, haunted member had not come to bed. They saw her placing a potions vial on their created shelves, humming and tapping her foot to the beat.

"Amber? Aren't you going to bed? You're with the hunting party tomorrow." asked Hermione gently. Amber turned at her voice and nodded.

"In a minute. I'm almost done." she answered. Severus took note of her humming and asked about it.

"It's a little ditty my Dad used to sing to me. When I was upset, I would sometimes go to him, particularly if Mom wasn't home. Every time I did, he'd sing to me and "dance" with me. It would be all I needed to forget what had made me upset. Daddy had a good singing voice, and if Mom didn't claim me for a bedtime story, he'd always put me to sleep by singing to me."

Severus and Hermione exchanged glances that said that the rest of the group would be getting up early tomorrow to have an Amber-free meeting about this. Amber needed comfort badly, and she had just given them an idea of how to help. The goal was to get her as over the abuse as she could possibly be before returning to the real world.

"Well, that's interesting. What songs did he sing? I'm not a bad singer myself, perhaps I can take his place for tonight?" asked Severus. Amber looked wistful and nodded. Hermione watched them go, Amber listing her father's lullabies as she and Severus headed towards her room.

For tonight, Amber would have a peaceful sleep.


	5. Winter sets in

I'm updating now!! Yay!!!

* * *

The next morning, Severus and Hermione got the others up 2 hours before dawn to discuss Amber and what had been learned the night before. It was quick and short and at dawn, Amber was up and ready to go. A quick breakfast and she was out, Harry and Remus by her side.

About 15 minutes later, Parvarti and Seamus had also left, trying to grab some more fish before winter sent all of them to the bottom of the river. An event that was approaching steadily closer every day. Severus and Hermione once again brewed potions, this time joined by Ron. The others just practiced their dueling.

As the winds turned bitter and colder, the group was forced indoors more often then they liked. Amber was willing to go hunting, but she was waylaid more often then not by the others. Winter had finally come, and its grasp was crueler then any other time the group had known.

Soon, Amber, Severus and Remus added another duty to their normal ones. Despite the fact that the whole group was aware that staying asleep when they woke in the mornings was deadly, it was just so hard for them to get up and get moving. Amber, Severus and Remus didn't seem to have this problem as badly as the others, and it was therefore up to them to get the others up.

Severus always threatened, and followed through with it till everyone learned to get up at Snape's first calling. Remus always used his werewolf traits to literally drag his poor victim out of bed and towards the commons, and Amber found a vindictive streak to her, allowing her to change into a wolf and loudly snarl or howl directly into the unsuspecting group member's ear.

Today was no different, Harry mused as he leapt a million miles in the air at the extra loud howl that now rang through his ears. However, something set it apart—he saw a flash of gold as the tail end of Amber the wolf headed to wake up Ron.

"Hey, has anyone noticed something different about today?" he brought it up at breakfast that day.

"Not really, why?" commented Sirius around some meat.

"Now that you mention it, I thought I saw a flash of gold when Amber vanished to wake up Luna…" said Hermione thoughtfully. Everyone looked up at this development.

"So did I." agreed Harry.

"But what's it mean?" questioned Minerva.

"We've been living here for months. We've seen that the animals don't appear to have any problems seeing portals. It's possible that it comes from something in the food or water. Food and water we're consuming too." said Ginny.

"Will it have any adverse effects on us?" asked Luna worriedly.

"No telling. So far, however, it hasn't done anything. We've been consuming it for months now, and the only reason we've noticed at all is that now we're starting to see the portals too. I, personally, am thankful for this development. After all, being able to see portals will help us greatly when spring comes and we go looking for the way out." replied Amber calmly.

The other agreed, and the topic was dropped.

As winter waged on, Amber would occasionally go against the others by rising earlier then even Severus and Remus and heading out. She had survived worse on the streets, and it was only temporary. She understood the others' feelings on the matter, of course, but they needed food, especially because they were such a large group and they were feeding 4 animals too.

She would always come back to the worried and upset gazes of Severus and Remus, and sometimes the others as well. They would berate her, hug her and tell her not to do it again. Instructions she never listened to. Eventually, they stopped, as they realized that Amber was going out regardless of what they said or did.

Presently, the group sat huddled around the common room fire. By now, they could all see the portals clearly as day, but they really didn't care right now.

"Why does winter have to be so bloody freezing?!" demanded Ron as he shivered and scooted as close to the fire as he could possibly get.

"Try thinking warm thoughts." suggested Neville.

"Like what?" demanded Lavender.

"Well, right now, I'm imagining my bed back in Gryffindor Tower. If I try hard enough, I can really feel how warm it always was." Neville said.

"Hmmm, the Burrow. My Canon posters and nice warm bed…" Ron stopped, stunned. "Hey, I can really almost smell the hot chocolate Mum's making!!" he exclaimed.

"Your mum makes the best hot chocolate. It was always so gooey and warmed me up so thoroughly…" Harry's eyes closed as he thought of Molly Weasley's hot chocolate.

"What are thinking about, Amber?" was Dean's subtle inquiry as to whether or not the girl had warm thoughts.

"Not much, really. My big girl bed, I suppose, and Mom's lap. My warmest thought, I guess, is the night they died."

"Why?"

"Before the house was attacked, I was sitting between my parents eating popcorn and drinking apple juice from a sippy cup, and I remember it quite well. I felt LOVED and that filled me with a warmth all its own. We were watching _The Last Unicorn_. I remember that because halfway through the movie, they attacked and I can still remember the end song playing as I saved what few things I had and ran for it."

A hug was her only response.

"So now we all have warm thoughts. Now what?" asked Hermione.

"Now we sit around the fire and sing campfire songs." It was hard to tell if Harry was being true or sarcastic.

"Winter can't stay forever. Soon enough it will be spring and then we can look for and find the exit portal, and leave this place. Just wait a bit longer. Winter always seems to last longer then it really does. Trust me, I know." replied Amber.

"Wonder what they're doing at Hogwarts right now?" mused Luna dreamily. Amber wracked her brain for a date—despite the fact that she never needed to know it before—and realized that it nearing Christmas time.

"Probably not much of anything. School has just recently let out for winter holiday, and Christmas is only a couple of weeks away."

"They're probably lost in grief then." said Minerva with a sigh. "It's only been a couple months since we lost you, and only about a month since they lost us. What with Christmas being a family holiday, they're probably spending it crying as they remember that we aren't there to celebrate it with them."

"Molly certainly isn't going to be having an easy time of it." said Sirius. "This year, she's probably going to end up forcefully reminding herself NOT to get out the maroon yarn."

"And no excess baking either, since Ginny and Harry are in here." Remus said with a sad smile.

A collective sigh.

"We'll be with them next Christmas though." offered Seamus.

"Till then, I suppose." Dean raised his meal in a fake toast. A couple of the others sarcastically joined him.

* * *

Indeed, this Christmas seemed to be the worst for Hogwarts and the Light in general. Molly was sobbing as she stared at the maroon yarn ball in her sewing kit, visions of Ron dancing through her mind. Ron had always hated maroon.

Fred and George were doing great with their shop, but no new products had come from them in a long time. Most people were very well aware as to why, and didn't complain. Some of their best and most useful pranks had come out before the horrid accident, so they had things to work with.

Percy had yet to really come out of his room. Bill had tried to talk to his younger brother once, but all he got in reply was sobbing and a yelled "Go away!!" Percy was heartbroken that Ron and Ginny had died thinking about how Percy had hurt the family by distancing himself an allying with the Ministry. And especially about how mean and horrible he was to Ron's best friend in that letter last year!!!

Dumbledore was heartbroken about the loss of his dearest friend, and it showed. Minerva was always so special to him, and Severus he saw as a son, and he had lost both of them. And Sirius and Remus!!! There went the last of the once great Marauders. Albus felt guilty every time he thought about the loss of his voice within the werewolf communities. After all, Remus was more then that, wasn't he?

He had been surprised when he went to collect Severus' things and found that he had kept all of Amber's things. Looking through one of the Potions Master's journals found that Severus was suspicious of a more abusive past then most of the school would have believed of Amber. He had planned to confront the girl about it this year, and was thoroughly upset and disappointed in himself when Amber was lost to the forest, especially since he'd had these suspicions since the year before last.

Albus buried his head in his hands. He, too, had thought that there was more to Amber then what he originally thought, but he had been too set in his ways, and now Amber had probably died thinking that the world was better off without her anyway. Besides his desk, Fawkes the Phoenix trilled soothingly, trying to comfort his master and friend.

"What am I going to do Fawkes? The world is falling apart, and Tom has nothing to do with it. Those kids defined this world in their way, even if they were obscure, and now they're all gone."

Fawkes trilled. He didn't know. On its shelf, the Sorting Hat sighed.

And not one of the office's occupants, portraits included, even once thought that the group they mourned could possibly be alive and surviving out winter to return to them in spring. After all, this was the Forest of Lost Souls here; NO ONE ever came back from the forest alive, or dead even.

And as Albus Dumbledore mourned his losses, and Molly Weasley sobbed about her own, a group of students and adults sat huddled around the fire, wondering just how long they'd have to suffer through the winter's harsh cold. But every face was determined, and every heart was filled with silent, solemn promises that they WOULD return, no matter what.

They would keep that promise that following spring.

And the start of the students' 7th (and 6th) year would see the start of something both strange and miraculous, as students and teachers once thought dead did the impossible and came back to life.

And, in the process, the world would be turned once again right side up.

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There. Review? Please? 


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